China, July 23,2019- The downward trend in sensor and actuator growth continued into the first quarter of this year, with global sales increasing by only 2% compared to the same period last year, but the semiconductor market is expected to return to strong momentum in the next six months. IC Insights predicts that sensor and actuator sales will grow by 5% in 2019, reaching a record high of $15.4 billion.
Due to the weak global economy, IC Insights reports that global sales of sensors and actuators are likely to slow to 3% in 2020. It will gradually resume its growth momentum between 2021 and 2023, and is expected to reach $21.1 billion in 2023.
According to IC Insights' latest OSD report, total sensor sales in 2018 increased by 8% to a record $9.1 billion, with double-digit growth in the previous two years. Actuator revenues rose 4% last year to a record high of $5.5 billion, while the market grew strongly by 18% in 2017 and 19% in 2016.
IC Insights expects global sales of sensors and actuators to grow by about 5% in 2019, reaching $9.6 billion and $5.8 billion, respectively. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization places non-optical sensors and actuators in the same market category because these devices are all converters that convert one form of energy into another. (Image and light sensors are part of the WSTS optoelectronics market category (+ WeChat focuses on the network world) and are not included in the sensor/actuator category.)
It is understood that about 83% of the sales of sensors and actuators ($12.2 billion) in 2018 came from the adoption of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). MEMS are used in pressure sensors (including microphone chips), accelerometers, gyroscope devices, and almost all actuators. According to IC Insights, sales of MEMS-based sensors and actuators increased by 6% in 2018, by 18% in 2017 and by 15% in 2016. Sales of MEMS-based sensors/actuators are expected to increase by about 5% in 2019 to a record $12.8 billion, and by 2020 only 3% due to economic weakness.
In terms of categories, pressure sensors (http://www.icchipword.com/article/What-is-Pressure-Sensor-Types-and-Applications-of-Pressure-Sensor.html) led sales growth in three major sensor categories, growing 13% to $3.3 billion in 2018; followed by acceleration/yaw sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes), which increased by 4% to 3.4 billion US dollars; last year magnetic sensors (including electronic compass chips) increased by 4.0% to reach $2 billion.
